Paiea on Big Island

Many do not realize that the Hawaiian Islands unification can be traced to a certain beginning. That beginning is in Paiea on Hawaii Island, or Big Island. The simple fact is that Kamehameha the great was born in Paiea. The kahuna, priests of Hawaii’s original religion, foretold of a great king that would unite all the Hawaiian islands. The signs of his coming would be a comet in the year he was born and the strength to lift the Naha Stone. Kamehameha was born when Halley’s Comet flew across Hawaiian skies in 1758. He grew up under his uncle’s teachings in the Kohala region of Big Island. There he grew stronger with training and became wiser with learning. When he was only 14 years old he was said to have lifted the Naha Stone which weighed over 5,000 lbs. He was the only person who had ever done it before.

After word spread of his deed he eventually was called to be an advisor of King Kalaniopuu. When Kalaniopuu died in 1782, Kamehameha overthrew the heir to the throne and claimed Hawaii Island as his own. When Captain George Vancouver came to the islands on behalf of the British Empire in 1793, there was much trade conducted between the great king and the Europeans. Food and timber was traded for guns and cannons giving Kamehameha the power to fulfill his destiny. He conquered Maui and Molokai very quickly and then dominated Oahu in 1795. Finally, in 1810 the king of Kauai surrendered thus making Kamehameha the uniter of the Hawaiian Islands.

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